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Bill to create state-backed registry for ‘green ammonia’ certificates draws broad industry support; amendment offers Minnesota fee credits
Summary
Senate File 17 10 would fund expansion of Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System to create a verifiable registry for ammonia produced with renewable electricity; the author’s A2 amendment adopted credits for Minnesota entities to offset registry fees.
Senate File 17 10, the Minnesota Made Ammonia Act, would fund development of software and a registry to verify and track ammonia produced with electricity from renewable sources, proponents told the Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment, and Climate Committee.
“By building upon the current MREDS tracking platform, we can establish a framework that encourages private sector investment while ensuring market transparency,” Rob Davis, chief growth officer for Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (MREDS), said. Davis testified the registry would function like existing renewable energy certificate systems to ensure no double counting and to provide auditable proof that a specific ton of ammonia was produced with renewable energy.
Sen. Mark Putnam, sponsor of the bill, said the registry would allow Minnesota farmers and companies to capture added value for ammonia produced using local renewable electricity, enabling new markets including sustainable aviation fuel and green steel feedstocks. “These records, called ammonia certificates, are a new and valuable commodity for Minnesota farmers and farm businesses to sell to a robust national and international market,” Putnam said.
Industry and advocacy testimony was broadly supportive. Testimony came from Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System; Clean Energy Economy Minnesota; Minnesota Conservative Energy Forum; Talus Ag and other modular-ammonia producers; the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute; and farmer representatives. Talus Ag described distributed modular systems that produce ammonia from electricity, water and air and said commercial systems are already deployed in Kenya and Iowa.
The committee adopted an author’s A2 amendment that, among other changes, directs MREDS to credit Minnesota businesses for registry fees up to the equivalent amount of the grant through Jan. 1, 2035, and limits the single-entity credit to $500,000. Rob Davis explained the mechanism: MREDS would charge published flat fees and then credit qualifying Minnesota businesses on their invoices up to the grant-equivalent amount, with the per-entity cap.
Testimony and member questions also focused on funding source and federal tax incentives. Members queried whether the language should appropriate general fund or RDA dollars; testifiers said stakeholder discussions pointed to the RDA as the preferred funding source. Witnesses also discussed the federal hydrogen tax credit (Internal Revenue Code section 45V/45B) and the “three-pillar” rules that can affect whether hydrogen or ammonia qualifies for federal incentives.
Senators pursued questions about registry governance and scope: Rob Davis said MREDS is a nonprofit governed by a board of utility executives, regulators and industry experts and that MREDS already operates a national-scale REC registry. He said the registry would be made available nationwide but the A2 amendment directs credits specifically to Minnesota entities.
The committee adopted the A2 amendment and laid Senate File 17 10 over for possible inclusion.
